Indian Air Force approves acquisition of six Netra Mk1A radar aircraft
The Indian government’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) last week approved the country’s Air Force to acquire six more Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) systems based on the DRDO Netra Mk1A platform.
The aircraft use Embraer’s ERJ 145 regional jet as the platform, which is equipped with a synthetic scanning array radar mounted on a fixed antenna on the fuselage, in addition to other systems and weapons.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been operating three of these aircraft since 2017, which were previously assembled by Embraer in Brazil.
The new Mk1A batch will feature new systems, including an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, an Electronic Warfare suite and a real-time communication network with other aircraft.
The IAF intends to expand the range of the jet, which already has an in-flight refueling pod.
“AEW&C systems for the Indian Air Force are capability enhancers which can exponentially increase the combat potential of every other weapon system,” the Defense Ministry said, according to local media.
Since the ERJ 145 jets are no longer produced by Embraer, the Air Force will have to acquire used airframes from the air travel market.
Netra Mk2
The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), which developed the system, is also working on a new and larger platform based on the Airbus A321.
Called Netra 2, it will be based on six used aircraft acquired from Air India and currently in service with the IAF’s communications squadron.
In addition to the Netra, India operates three Russian Ilyushin IL-76 AWACS (Beriev A-50) jets with older technology but greater radar range.
The expansion of the radar fleet is a response to the military expansion of Pakistan, a country with which India has been involved in several clashes.
About the Author
Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
